View from the Bottom of the Mountain

I don't like being negative - I consider myself naturally optomistic and positive but lately I feel like I've been viewing things from the bottom of the mountain (maybe this is part of the postpartum hormones).  The major part of my life that I seem to have this perspective in is being a Mother.  Now I have 3 beautiful children.  They are amazing, loving, interesting, funny... they keep me going all the time - but I feel like I fall short in what I should be doing and what I have been doing for them.  HOW can I teach them? What should my days look like if I am a successful mother?  How can I help them to embrace all the goodness they should embrace in this world? How can I help them learn - abc's, how to eat nice, how to dress nice, how to treat others?  My sweet lil' Marybelle is an early riser - often coming into my room before 6am! This is a huge trial for me as I am not even a morning person.  We started by having the TV set up for her and she could watch it until the rest of us can roll out of bed.  But last week I started setting things up (painting or playdough and breakfast) the night before so she could be more productive in the mornings.  I haven't been able to be consistent with this though and can't help but feel like a failure.  I really don't like her watching TV at all anymore and really want to get rid of our cable - but apparently it is cheaper for us to have cable (how backwards is that?!!!)
I want to be a better mother and help my children to find true happiness and to be successful - I wish there was a handbook and a clear outline of how to do this!!!!

What Makes Me Happy?

Every once in awhile I get sorta down - I like to blame it on the hormones.  My dear Husband usually responds to this by telling me that I need to do something that'll make me happy - that's what he does.  Hugh is really good at feeling free to do what he wants when he wants (and it's rare that it is inconvenient for me).  BUT my biggest problem seems to be that I can never think of what makes me happy - what can I do?
SO, it's been a long time since I've blogged and I thought, maybe I should create a blog/reminder for myself of the things that make me happy and then I have a list of things to choose from on those down days.  Here is my list - feel free to comment and add suggestions of things to make you happy :)
Pedicures:

Alright, I actually have only had one or maybe two professional pedicures in my life, but I THINK about getting them ALL the time! I wish they were cheap, then I'd actually GET them all the time! :)

Massages:

I love massages and used to get them all the time - I especially loved it when it was part of my health plan through my company! I miss those days!!! Now that the money comes right out of our pockets, I can't really treat myself to a massage without feeling stressed and guilty about it, which takes all the fun out of it.

 Going to a Movie:

I LOVE going to movies - and I'm not really picky about genres, except I just can't handle scary or sweary. :)  I'm one of those 'boring' people that if people asked me what to do I would always choose watching a movie!



 I love being outside in the sun soaking in the rays... mmmmmm.... feels so good! I wish the sun wasn't so bad for our skin because I would suntan everyday that I could!  And during winter I would totally be a regular in the tanning beds, I just love it!!  And actually when I prepare to labor and create my 'special place' to take my mind off of the contractions, usually I just imagine myself laying outside in the sun. This totally makes me happy!

 Swimming is one of my favorite things to do! I think as I look at my list above that I really should try to live in a hotter climate - I could totally be a beach bum!  It's sorta funny looking to be ina swimsuit I think when I'm pregnant, but I could swim all day and it feels so good to be in the water!

Last thing that makes me happy is being around the people I love.  My Husband and children bring me such great joy - I'm truly so grateful for them! Also, I've been blessed with wonderful friends, I just wish I could spend more time with everyone!!!  Here are some pictures of my family that makes me smile.

 How can someone feel down after these?

I LOVE my Kids!!!

Sorry, I haven't really been up to 'bloggin'... we are a busy family, but it's hard to think of things to write about or to feel passionate enough to write about things.  A new thing that's kind of a big deal for us this week was that we bought a van.  It's pretty exciting, and also kind of weird because we keep getting all these strange comments about becoming "a real family" or "entering our new phase of life" or "having a mormon assault vehicle"?!?!   Funny... weird... I never viewed a van like that before, but am super happy to have one now!

So I really wanted to blog about my beautiful children.  Right now I'm pregnant, and I don't know if the hormones are what's making so gooey about my kids, but seriously I'm filled with so much joy from my children!  I've always loved children in general, but my kiddo's blow my mind with how cute, hilarious and fun they are.  My 1 year old is super cuddly.  He's always giving the best hugs and thinks it's so funny to tease me with kisses (meaning, he'll give Hugh a kiss, but taunt me by not kissing me and just laughing about it, and making me chase him down for a kiss)  It's a big change to have a cuddly baby because our daughter would NOT cuddle until she was probably 2!!
Our 3 year old has the greatest imagination ever!  She's always making strange requests that keep me laughing... like whenever I read her "Winnie the Pooh and the Big Bear", she has me change the big bear into a big girl bear, and I have to add female voices... ahhh.. fun!
This week I've not been able to sleep in even until 6:45am because Marybelle is so enthusiastic about the mornings.  So she's always in my room bright and early and wakes me up by saying the cutest things "Momma, the sun is out, it's time to get outta bed sweetheart". and she'll pat my face or kiss my cheeks...   I actually have turned more into a morning person a bit because I get excited to see her and hear what she says first thing in the mornings.

Anyhoo... it's awesome to be a Mom - I'm super excited to see and meet baby #3...  Loving each moment! 

Not super impressed...

Well I've been avoiding writing on my blog for a few weeks now.. and definitely didn't do the full 30 day challenge - but I'm okay with that - I hope you guys are too!  Lots has been happening over the last few weeks and I'm feeling a bit of a need to 'let it out'... So, here's my sounding board
Right now I'm really feeling frustrated - My neice and nephew were taken into foster care two weeks ago, and I've basically had to work and wait to get one of them into my home... they seemed to want to put it off forever, but today is the day everything is moving forward, only it's 8:24pm and I JUST heard from her foster mom - she was supposed to contact me today to arrange the transfer, and never did... finally around 6pm I started calling her number that was given to me... and by 630 I left a voicemail.... No calls... 8 pm hits and I'm totally stressing over things, so I call the 24hr number to confirm that I didn't mess up the details and to see what they would recommend.  They stated that this was way late to be bringing a child, and they would try to contact the worker on the same number I had - I guess they had luck and the lady finally called. 
Luckily there was no need to worry, but now when my neice comes I'm going to have to wake up my daughter to get her to bed - I just think it was alittle unconsiderate.

I actually don't like to vent that much, but since Hugh wasn't home, I just needed the outlet, so thanks for 'listening' or reading.   Other things in my life are actually really wonderful.  I feel grateful to have such a supportive husband and he's been helping extra with my neice coming.  And our children are seriously stellar!  I think things will work well with my neice here, I've already seen changes happening that will allow me to deal with 'everything' better and so I know that Heavenly Father's hand is in all of this.  I'm grateful to be able to see His love and concern for me.  I guess that's enough for now - I'll hopefully get on here again soon.

Cramming time!

So anyone who is 'following' is probably thinking how LAME I am at doing a daily blog... meh, I don't know if I'm super dissappointed myself, but I thought I better cram a few in today:

Day 10-Songs you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped
Day 11-A picture of you and your family
Day 12- Put your ipod or shuffle on-first 10 songs that play
Songs I listen to... Usually whatever is on the radio but if i need to be specific to the moods, here is what i would choose:  Bored: Mika - Grace Kelly (seems to put me in a better mood)
Happy - Earth, Wind, and Fire - September
Sad - All American Rejects - It Ends Tonight
Mad - Hoobastank - Same Direction
Hyped - Queen - Break Thru

A Picture of me and my family... I've been meaning to take a group pic forever... even had a goal to send out our family pics on a christmas card... but here I am, still without a picture of the group... so here's what i DO have...

I will do my best to capture all of us together sometime soon, and post a more recent one...

Day 12... I feel almost like I could get away with boycotting this and not doing it, because I'm not cool enough to have an ipod, or even a cell phone... Since I got married, I basically dropped outta the technology race - so please forgive me... alls I gots r cds in the car-o     and those don't really capture the shuffle effect. But now you know about my lameness, and so this day's blog has been accomplished, right!?!

Day 9-Something you're proud of in the past few days

This would be a good place to add a few of the pictures we've taken in the past few days... but I don't have my camera-to-computer cord... So I'll have to add these later... but feel free to envision:
It was Clayton's FIRST birthday on Friday!  He did SO good - opening gifts, being happy and entertaining.
With the busy-ness of the weekend, I'm also super proud of my accomplishing my 'survival' goal... I did it, I'm still breathing and survived it all~! I know.. I'm pretty spectacular ;)

Day 8-Short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them

Ahhhhh Yes! Goals.... 'right, right' - Goals are one of those things that we are supposed to always have, and with a New Year having just happened we are all supposed to be really intense on them right now, right?!
Then this should be an easy blog...
Goal #1

This is ALWAYS the goal on the top of my list!  Just Survive! Keep breathing, keep moving....survive whatever comes your way!

Goal#2

Read books - I'm trying to be part of a bookclub - which was something that I never thought I'd like (and I do) or that I'd have time for (and now my children are neglected.. jks... Hugh is super helpful!)  So I'm going to give it my all to read more books and go to book club, because it makes me feel like I'm opening my mind... (I'm the girl with the glasses in the pic btw... that's my goal too)

Goal#3.... the usual.... workout... eat better
Goal#4.... Blog... we'll see how this goes... I think I have two followers, so sorry if I let you ladies down ... haha

Day 7-A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

This is the person and the event that has had the biggest impact on me.  I know alot of people get tired of hearing and reading people go on and on about their pregnancies and all the little things that happen with a new baby - but this is truly a life changing experience!  Marybelle has changed my life!  I've always wanted to be a Mom and have always loved interacting with children.  Although I had experience babysitting over long periods of time, I never could really have understood what it meant to be a Mother.  It's beautiful! I am loving this journey I'm on, and so grateful for this lil' girl and lil' boy who are teaching me so much and changing me so much!  For those of you who are scared about becoming a parent - it's true, it's scary, but there is nothing more rewarding when you overcome it!

Day 6-Favorite super hero and why

This question for a girl... you probably aren't going to get a stellar reason as to why... So not really knowing or 'following' many super heros I HAD to choose Iron Man... the movies are recent and he's a big hit in my books!  I also really enjoy the actor - it's awesome to see the change from a rich, selfish person as he's transformed into someone who wants to protect people from the evil he was actually part of creating (without realizing it)...   Love the movies, and it's also got a pretty decent song..;.. so Iron Man "you're my hero!"

Day 5-A picture of somewhere you've been to

In 2007 I got to go to conference for the first time -truly an incredible experience.  I was lucky enough to attend 3 of the 5 sessions and this is the picture of my closest seat - it was truly amazing and my testimony was strengthened so much from 'being' there.  Especially when we sang "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet" and I felt confirmation of President Hinkley truly being a Prophet of God. -Amazing!

Day 4-A habit that you wish you didn't have

It's pretty simple - here comes the confession... and maybe that's the first place to start to make a change...

My name is Tressa and.... I'm a nail biter.
I know, super gross!  and I think the thing that bothers me the most about it is that now my beautiful little daughter has picked up my bad habit :(
Now's the time for change, I've stopped before, I just need to make it permanent!

P.S. please don't tell anyone (or even notice when you see me) it's super gross and embarrassing and I'm totally self conscious about it!

A picture of you and your friends

Day 3 - a 'picture' of me and my friends - so I have visuals for you but also want to paint a brief 'picture' for you of my friends!

This is J-Ro and myself at YW's camp. She's an amazing mother of 4 and full of competition! We have a great time teasing each other and trying to manipulate each other.  I'm always shocked at her energy and how much she can accomplish, she is a true partier and such a fun person! As mentioned in a previous post, I'm really grateful for my friendship with Jenny because she's helped me become more social - I feel more myself around her and getting back into being silly and having fun has helped me be a better wife and mother.  She's such an example to me.

Kels-o is my friend inlaw (you know, how a sister inlaw becomes an automatic Sister?!)  She married Hugh's and my friend Warren and moved countries for him (from the States). Before I even met her, I wanted to be friends.  She's got mad cooking/baking skills and is always sharing her goodies with us.  Kelsey keeps me laughing with the little details she notices, and she keeps me on my toes (as I'm always trying to be aware of my little details that may be dorky).

Patricia, my dear friend from YW's and the good ol' high school days.  I don't know how we've been so lucky, but we've basically been adopted into Patricia's amazing family - we love them!

Sad to report, Patricia left Canada in high school so we've had to keep most of our contacts long distance, but that's what amazes me about our friendship, we've actually stayed in touch!  Patricia has two amazing (and Brilliant children) and is the most talented person (and her kids get to benefit from the funnest things because of her mad skills).  Patricia has the ability to teach herself anything (guitar, professional cake decorating to name a few) and become a true expert in it!  I've accepted that I can't compare, but I'm always being blown away and feel motivated by her example to be a better Mom myself!

Oh, Lonnie Mae aka Lou-lou (that's her self given nickname that I love). This is my Mexican Cousin - who I truly believe is the most loved person by everyone in my extended family.  To those who 'know' her, they probably would be surprised that once you break through her shy exterior she is the most wild, hilarious and interesting person they will ever meet!  I feel lucky that I've been able to know the true Lonnie instead of the shy girl - my childhood and teenage years are full of the funnest times dancing and singing (btw, she has a truly killer voice!!!) Everytime I'm with Lonnie, we get back into our usual silly interaction of singing and dancing (almost without fail!) Lonnie has a talent to make me laugh and feel happy. I love her!

Two birds with one stone. Here are Lesley (righty-tighty) and Eryn (lefty lucy) at my bridal shower.  Again, amazing friends - that's what we are supposed to surround ourselves with right? Well, I've been successful! I've known Lesley my whole life and always loved her and her family - and we seem to be on the same track as we got married months apart and then our first babies are 2 wks apart.  Lesley's super talented at making people feel comfortable and shows true interest and love for everyone!   Now, Eryn (my E.T. -eternal twin) I was so shocked to discover how similar Eryn and I are - We would say the same things, think the same way and have strange similarities.  I miss Eryn, and truly haven't talked with her for months, but I had to include her on this list!

Beautiful Wendy (Patricia's Mom) is one of my best friends! She and Eric, as I mentioned before have been so good to our family.  My children look to her as another grandma/nana and she's forever spoiling them.  Everyone feels loved around Wendy - she has a huge heart and is forever going 'all out' serving others.  She's such a beautiful woman inside and out!  Wendy is also an amazing cook/baker... and her sweets are out of this world - they seriously blow my mind, I never knew things could taste so good!!!

Serena and Kim - Roomies extraordinaire!  These two are probably the hardest to write about as we have so many good memories and times together and HOW can someone sum that up? Serena is a giver - she shared all her clothes with me (often dressing me and making sure I looked decent before leaving the house) and she even shared her room and bed with me for months (I know that sounds weird, but it was like a sleepover every night).  Serena always had all the boys inlove with her (actually, so did Kim) and she is a lady who speaks her mind, which is so funny.  Serena was the first to get married and have babies (her babies are gorgeous!) and I'm sad she lives far away, but whenever we get together we just 'pick up' from where we left off!

Kim is another true partier - she seems to make friends so easily and everyone loves her.  She and her hubby Mark are always doing something interesting (and I try not to be a stick in the mud anymore).  She is a creative person with great humor and although we too have a great distance between us (she lives in NY) we've stayed close over the years and I feel like she's one of the few people I can share anything with.  She's supported me through so much and stands as a great example to me.

I love my friends, and I have so many people that I am so grateful to have in my life. I'm truly blessed!

The meaning behind " T*Dot... the love story continues...

Strange Blog name, I know. I've always struggled with making up nicknames or email addresses (back when i didn't just use my actual name) So the T*Dot, became my nickname back in 2003/2004ish when I worked at a Golf Course - my friend and coworker Ethan was asking about my email address...  I was super embarrassed to tell him the truth (lovin_guys@hotmail.com which is no longer in use) so I told him I really needed to create a new one and he helped me... with tdotj and he always called me tdot from that point on - and i liked it  (it was much better than some of the other nicknames i've had ie.wolverine)
... the remainder of my blog name... the love story continues.... I decided on that part of the title because I'm forever sharing my "love story" (the story about how Hugh and I finally made it to husband and wife) and although I love our story of the beginning, I have high expectations for the future and have been loving every minute of every day... so really, for me, to write about my life is really writing about a cheesy love story (the kind they should make movies about)  ---- what can I say, I'm super happy and super inlove and super lucky!

30 Day Blog Challenge!

Hey there! Okay, I'm impressed if you still check my blog - obviously blogging isn't a natural thing for me and I really struggle to come up with things to blog about - SOOOOO I'm going to start the 30 day blog challenge that I saw on Kelsey & Warren's blog! Maybe this will keep things interesting?
Day 1-15 interesting facts about yourself
Day 2-The meaning behind your Blog name
Day 3-A picture of you and your friends
Day 4-A habit that you wish you didn't have
Day 5-A picture of somewhere you've been to
Day 6-Favorite super hero and why
Day 7-A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
Day 8-Short term goals for this month and when you'll accomplish them
Day 9-Something you're proud of in the past few days
Day 10-Songs you listen to when you're bored, happy, sad, mad, hyped
Day 11-A picture of you and your family
Day 12- Put your ipod or shuffle on-first 10 songs that play
Day 13- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why
Day 14- Plans/dreams/goals you have
Day 15-Nicknames you have and why you have them
Day 16-Someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future
Day 17- A picture of something that makes you happy
Day 18- Something you crave for a lot
Day 19-What I would find in your bag
Day 20- Your favorite song
Day 21- A funny childhood memory
Day 22- The places you have lived
Day 23- Your favorite author/writer/poet
Day 24- A dream you had in the last month
Day 25- Your dream vacation spot
Day 26- Something/ Someone that has inspired you to do better or make a change recently
Day 27- How do you spend your leisure time
Day 28- A picture of your pet if you have one, if not a pet you would like to own
Day 29- Something you would like to do before you die
Day 30- A Favorite Quote

First things first, let's get all my interesting facts on the table - or at least 15 of them!
1. I can make gross 'tooting' sounds with my hand against my eye (you know, like how guys can do under their armpits? It's charming....)
2. I like to try to be original, and to be a prankster... when I worked at Rogers Video I used the label maker to make my own label which I put on my rearview mirror - my Mom (days later) brought to my attention that I called myself the "original pranster" - definitely not cool!
3. I LOVED Elvis - listened to him, watched most of his movies and biographies... and everyone knew that I loved him.... and that's probably what got me to stop liking him.... Elvis overload! Everyone got me Elvis items and crammed my life with Elvis until it became too much... now I barely listen to him.
4. I struggle with whistling - it's something I really wish I could do, but ever since I can remember whistling has been extremely difficult - I can't get a tune.. just one high pitch note ... as a child the only way I could get a whistling sound out was by curling my tongue outside of my mouth, biting down on it and blowing (my bangs fluttering around from it)
5. I married my best friend - but only after dating him twice and fighting my feelings for him (there IS a thin line between love and hate) Finally, after his mission, he asked me to stay and not go on my mission and proposed!
6. I was called to the Toronto East Spanish speaking mission - my cousin/best friend Lonnie was called to the same mission (minus the language) and we recieved our calls on the same day (all forces combined against me staying and marrying my husband)
7. I've always wanted a large family! I LOVE large families, I always wanted my parents to have more kids, and I was so happy to marry into the O'Briens family with 9 children!!!  Before I started having kids I would say that I wanted a minimum of 6 kids.... but after having two, I know that alot more details will determine the size of our family!
8. I prefer cooking over baking.
9. When I bake, I prefer looking at a recipe and using it just as a guideline to lead me to create whatever comes to mind!
10.I love Swings!
11.I LOVE dancing!
12. My parents and Hugh's parents are some of my favorite people in the whole world!
13. I love to drive... in high school I would offer rides to anyone, just so I'd have the excuse to drive around
14. I'm a boring person - I'm perfectly happy staying at home  most of the time and think it's exciting enough to watch a movie.
15. I love playing basketball... but prefer it to be co-ed (I don't really like the way most girls play)